| 100% | NEOPHOBIA | 9 | The fear of new or unfamiliar things |
| 49% | RUBBISH | 7 | Rupophobia is the fear of __ or dirt |
| 46% | ABIOLOGY | 8 | The study of inorganic or non-living things |
| 44% | STEPSON | 7 | The male child of your new wife or husband |
| 43% | FUSION | 6 | The process of joining two or more things into one |
| 43% | EXTORTION | 9 | The act of getting things by force or with threats |
| 43% | BOOKS | 5 | Things people resolve to read more of in the New Year |
| 42% | OLDSCHOOL | 9 | Not down with the new ways of doing things |
| 42% | KINGSTON | 8 | New York's first capital city... or the capital city of Jamaica |
| 41% | ESSENCE | 7 | The most significant quality or aspect of a thing |
| 40% | TOPS | 4 | Thing or part placed on, fitted to, or covering the upper part of something (plural) |
| 40% | FEATUREARTICLE | 14 | In-depth news story, or any of the reviews mentioned in this puzzle? |
| 39% | SNAPDECISION | 12 | Thing made in haste, or perhaps after the first words of 20-, 34- and 40-Across |
| 39% | CLOWNS | 6 | Coulrophobia is the fear of __ |
| 39% | HEIGHTS | 7 | Acrophobia is the fear of __ |
| 39% | BICYCLES | 8 | Cyclophobia is the fear of __ |
| 39% | VOMITING | 8 | Emetophobia is the fear of __ |
| 39% | CHANGES | 7 | Metathesiophobia is the fear of __ |
| 39% | SINNING | 7 | Hamartophobia is the fear of __ |
| 39% | ENNEAD | 6 | Set of nine persons or things such as the — of Heliopolis in Egyptian mythology |
| 39% | AGER | 4 | Follower of new or golden |
| 39% | BRAND | 5 | Kind of new or name |
| 39% | WHATSTHAT | 9 | ___? (with 91 Across) pron. the farther away of two things or ideas being discussed |
| 39% | SIX | 3 | Half of a dozen or the next number in a New Year's countdown |
| 39% | SPOT | 4 | Type of news or survey |
| 39% | LOCAL | 5 | Kind of news or anesthesia |
| 39% | BURIED | 6 | The fear of being __ alive is called taphephobia |
| 39% | WORKPLACE | 9 | Ergophobia is the fear of the __ |
| 39% | CHANGE | 6 | What metathesiophobia is the fear of |
| 39% | DAYLIGHT | 8 | Eosophobia is the fear of this |